In Reply It appears that we are not in disagreement with Drs Powell and Partin, who
state that instead of focusing on bias reduction, a better litmus test of the appropriateness of
communication is whether it facilitates informed, value-concordant decisions by patients. Similarly,
we stated in our Viewpoint that the aim of our model of persuasion is precisely to help patients
make autonomous decisions in line with their basic beliefs; bias reduction is merely the first step
in achieving this objective.